This is only an idea but what if we elect our senators?
Considering that we only elect our MPs which occupy the Dewan Rakyat and that any legislative bills approved by the Dewan Rakyat are thereon, out of formality, passes through Dewan Negara and His Majesty the Agong, wouldn't that make Dewan Rakyat rather powerful?
Source: http://malaysianguide.blogspot.com/2008/06/malaysianparliament.html
Surely if power concentrate in one house where we only have one chance every five or so years to appoint our MPs and more than 10 million (ever increasing btw) making individual choices, events like March 8 will only happen once in a blue moon.
With the ill-conceived proposed DNA Identification Bill 2008 (lessons from Francis Udayappan case seemed forgotten by this Government) and the "morality" issue related to party hopping, perhaps it is high time our law makers consider amending the Constitution to allow for senators election. Yes, it will be costly and time consuming to have another regular election but this will give voters a chance to consider if the elected makeup of the Dewan Rakyat is what they wanted and also serve as a barometer to approve what the current government is doing.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=4046750
The lawmakers should also ensure that in the Constitutional amendments, dissolution of Dewan Negara must be at least a year (or two) away from the recent Dewan Rakyat election in order to do so. And with two Houses directly elected, power would certainly be diluted in the legislative where more checks and balances would emerge.
Perhaps passages of bills would be approved slower but at least all consultations are seen to be fully performed. And if it is really against the Constitution, that is where an independent judiciary would be needed to reject such bills.
But considering these ideal situations, one must not leave out for a voter to make a fair and informed decision, we would need to ensure that we have truly free and fair press and institutions like Election Commission, ACA, Police, Attorney General office and such directly accountable to the Parliament.
I know I am only dreaming of a fairer system of governance but I also dreamt before this that someday BN be denied of their 2/3 majority stranglehold over the Dewan Rakyat representation and they get booted out of office.
The first part has been realised on 8th of March 2008. Will the second part be realised on 16th of September 2008? This we will know in less than 2 weeks time. As for the senator appointments, I hope the new Government, if they truly believe in accountability, would consider devolving the powers held in Dewan Rakyat.
Source: http://malaysianguide.blogspot.com/2008/06/malaysianparliament.htmlSurely if power concentrate in one house where we only have one chance every five or so years to appoint our MPs and more than 10 million (ever increasing btw) making individual choices, events like March 8 will only happen once in a blue moon.
With the ill-conceived proposed DNA Identification Bill 2008 (lessons from Francis Udayappan case seemed forgotten by this Government) and the "morality" issue related to party hopping, perhaps it is high time our law makers consider amending the Constitution to allow for senators election. Yes, it will be costly and time consuming to have another regular election but this will give voters a chance to consider if the elected makeup of the Dewan Rakyat is what they wanted and also serve as a barometer to approve what the current government is doing.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=4046750The lawmakers should also ensure that in the Constitutional amendments, dissolution of Dewan Negara must be at least a year (or two) away from the recent Dewan Rakyat election in order to do so. And with two Houses directly elected, power would certainly be diluted in the legislative where more checks and balances would emerge.
Perhaps passages of bills would be approved slower but at least all consultations are seen to be fully performed. And if it is really against the Constitution, that is where an independent judiciary would be needed to reject such bills.
But considering these ideal situations, one must not leave out for a voter to make a fair and informed decision, we would need to ensure that we have truly free and fair press and institutions like Election Commission, ACA, Police, Attorney General office and such directly accountable to the Parliament.
I know I am only dreaming of a fairer system of governance but I also dreamt before this that someday BN be denied of their 2/3 majority stranglehold over the Dewan Rakyat representation and they get booted out of office.
The first part has been realised on 8th of March 2008. Will the second part be realised on 16th of September 2008? This we will know in less than 2 weeks time. As for the senator appointments, I hope the new Government, if they truly believe in accountability, would consider devolving the powers held in Dewan Rakyat.
No comments:
Post a Comment